Public Education In LA

Here is an excerpt from the OpinionJournal about the sorry state of public education. In L.A., the district has squelched school choice for children in failing schools by evading deadlines for notifying families of their transfer options; burying information in bureaucratese; and encouraging families to accept after-school supplemental services (often provided by the same district employees who fail to get the job done during the regular school day) rather than transfers. Still, the district insists that the reason for the low transfer numbers is that parents don't want their kids to leave failing schools. That explanation rings false because, well, it is. The Polling Company surveyed Los Angeles and Compton parents whose children are eligible to transfer their children out of failing schools. Only 11% knew their school was rated as failing, and fewer than one-fifth of those parents (just nine out of 409 surveyed) recalled receiving notice to that effect from the districts--a key NCLB requirement. Once informed of their schools' status and their transfer rights, 82% expressed a desire to move their children to better schools. I'm a strong proponent for school choice. I believe that putting capitalist competition between schools will make them strive to perform better or risk locking their doors. I support school vochers and open enrollment in public schools. I'm also a strong opponent opponent to NCLB. I feel that it's a bad law that only makes our schools worse. The US is lagging behind other nations in education and that is something that we can't afford.